Month: November 2014

When we first visited the Hama Cooperative back in 2011, we were greeted by three adorable Ethiopian children. We’d tasted coffees from Hama previously and found them to present ‘classic’ Yirgacheffe characteristics: candied lemon, intense florality, and refreshing, citric acidity.

About The Growers
When we first visited the Hama Cooperative back in 2011, we were greeted by three adorable Ethiopian children. We’d tasted coffees from Hama previously and found them to present ‘classic’ Yirgacheffe characteristics: candied lemon, intense florality, and refreshing, citric acidity.

Three years later, Hama and other cooperatives within the Yirgacheffe Union umbrella are operating with a marked increase in sophistication. Most of the washed coffees that the Union puts out are grade 2, meaning that there are a good amount of defects. As of late, however, the Union has asked some of the larger producers to bring in strictly ripe cherry from the peak of the harvest to be kept separate from the standard lots.

We’ve tasted several of the special prep lots from washing stations all over Yirgacheffe including Biloya, Adamegorbota, Aramo, and Idido and have noticed a marked increase in quality by several points across the board.

This Hama lot is our absolute favorite of what we tasted from this year’s harvest and perhaps our favorite coffee that we will release all year. The intense florality, sparkly crispness, and candied lemon characteristics remind us of top Gesha lots, but for a fraction of the cost.

We are proud to have Toby’s Estate as one of our newest roasters. In addition to great coffee, they have the farmer’s interest in mind as well. Earlier this year Toby’s Estate raised over $4,500 for La Escuela De La Piedrona during their Honduras Education Drive. Below is a large excerpt from the Toby’s Estate Blog.

We are proud to have Toby’s Estate as one of our newest roasters. In addition to great coffee, they have the farmer’s interest in mind as well. Earlier this year Toby’s Estate raised over $4,500 for La Escuela De La Piedrona during their Honduras Education Drive. Below is a large excerpt from the Toby’s Estate Blog.

We arrived with the plan to help seal and paint the cinder block school, and were able to spend the week helping to do so. But, while the Honduran government helps the school by supplying beans and corn flour for the children’s lunch, the school’s only storage room also had a leak in its roof. The silver lining to the current drought in Honduras is that reduced rains had meant less ruined food, but the structure still needed fixing. During our time painting, Moises helped to oversee a complete replacement of the roof, ensuring better weather-proof food storage.

Now, with the painting all done, the school looks like a brand new building, and the classrooms are a much brighter and better place to learn. There are also still funds available to help improve the school. Currently, the head teacher Allan Omar Pineda Vasquez is the only instructor in charge of six grades, sixty students, and two classrooms. The school will greatly benefit from having another educator so one teacher can remain dedicated to each classroom and the pressure on Allan is halved. Marysabel and Moises are excited to make this a reality and are helping to find a quality teacher.

The other major problem the students face involves their parents, who bear the burden of paying for all the books, uniforms and supplies their children will need. In poor, rural districts that responsibility can easily become overwhelming, so any leftover funds will be used to help subsidize the purchase of books and supplies for the school. We are excited to see the final results of this endeavor and to continue to find ways to work with and support La Escuela De La Piedrona.”